Prime Minister’s address during the International Conference on Rule of Law for supporting 2030 Development Agenda

Prime Minister’s address during the
International Conference on Rule of Law for supporting 2030 Development Agenda

Hon. Chief Justice of India,
Other Dignitaries on the dais,
Judicial minds from India and abroad
Invitees, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am delighted to address the International Workshop on Rule of Law and
Sustainable Development. I welcome our friends from abroad and thank them for
their active participation.

This workshop is being organized soon after two important international
agreements which happened during 2015. One is the Paris Agreement on climate
change. The other is the Agreement on Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore,
this conference provides a timely and useful opportunity to discuss the way
forward. This is important not only in the national context but also in the
global context. I hope you will keep in mind the welfare of mankind and the
concerns of the international community in your deliberations.

The role of rules and laws in achieving sustainable development goals is going
to be very important in the days to come. However, rules should be such that they
facilitate the achievement of these goals. Unfortunately, some times, the
concern for environment is defined narrowly. We all have to realize that if
there is conflict, no one’s purpose will be served. I hope that you will show
us the way to build and ensure climate justice across the globe based on legal
as well as social frameworks.

Last year, in September, I attended the meeting of the UN General Assembly
where the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 were adopted. These goals
reflect our evolving understanding of the social, economic and environmental
linkages that define our lives.

This was followed by the COP-21 where we contributed significantly in shaping
the narrative. Our commitments at COP-21 underline the Indian ethos which aims
at changing human lifestyle along with changes in the manner in which we engage
in economic activity. The problems of environment are largely the effect of our
consumptive lifestyles. If we want to make a meaningful impact, we all need to
look within; before we read the books of law.

Friends!

I have always felt that anything which is not sustainable cannot be called
development. In our culture, development means ‘बहुजन हिताय,
बहुजन सुखाय’,
‘सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनो’ and “लोकाः समस्ताः
सुखिनो भवन्तु’. This cannot happen unless the
development process is inclusive and sustainable. Anything which compromises on
the ability of future generations to meet their requirements cannot be called
development. We in India have always believed in sustainability. For us, the law
of nature holds great value. If we all observe it, then many man-made laws will
not be required. Only the practice of सह जीवन and सह अस्तित्व will be enough to help us. In modern
terminology, there is a word called stakeholder. A path becomes sustainable, if
all stakeholders are benefitted. However, I must add a word of caution here.
The stake should be natural. It should be inherent. It cannot be stretched to
include those who may be working with ulterior motives. Nature is pure. Hence,
only pure intentions can keep it intact.

We, in India, have a strong tradition of living in harmony with nature. We
worship nature. We worship the sun, the moon, rivers, land, trees, animals,
rain, air and fire. These elements of Nature have been given the stature of
Gods in our culture. Moreover, in Indian mythology, most of the Gods and
Goddesses are associated with an animal and a tree. Thus, respect for Nature is
an integral part of our culture, and has been passed across generations.
Protection of environment comes naturally to us. This strong tradition has been
a guiding principle for all of us.

There is a well-known Sanskrit saying:

Which means:

We always pray for welfare, peace, fulfillment and sustainability of all; at
all places and for all times.

This is our commitment; not of today but since time immemorial. If we remember
this, follow this and act accordingly, India could provide leadership in
sustainable development. For example, the practice of Yoga is aimed at
balancing contentment and worldly desires, to lead to a path of moderation and
sustainable lifestyle. When I talk of yoga, it is not just its physical
dimension. Yoga is very comprehensive. The ideas of YAM, NIYAM, PRATYAHAR teach
us discipline, austerity and control.

Much before the debate on sustainable development began, Mahatma Gandhi, the
Father of our Nation, had said that we should act as ‘trustees’ and use natural
resources wisely. It is our moral responsibility to ensure that we leave a
healthy planet for future generations.

Friends! I am sure all of us agree that poverty is the biggest challenge for
environment. Therefore, eradication of poverty is one of the fundamental goals
of my government. Guided by our core values, we are working towards achieving
this goal with sincerity. We want to ensure a conducive environment for 1.25
billion Indians to develop, and prosper. We are encouraging education, skill
development, digital connectivity and entrepreneurship to provide an enabling
ecosystem for our youth to blossom. We aim to do all this in a sustainable
manner.

We realize that fulfilling the demand for energy is vital to the achievement of
our development goals. This is why, one of the first challenges that we took up
was generation of 175 Giga watts of renewable energy. We are well on our way to
achieving this objective.

We have also taken up the Swacch Bharat and Clean Ganga Initiatives.
I am happy to note that millions of people across the country have joined the
cleanliness drive. I take this opportunity to invite the participants to
explore as to how we can strengthen this collective endeavour. I am glad to
learn that this workshop will also discuss issues related to pollution and waste
management. These are issues that need to be addressed proactively. I look
forward to your recommendations towards strengthening such initiatives.

Friends!

The problems we face in India today are not unique. Other civilizations have
also faced similar problems and were able to overcome them. I believe that
through our collective efforts we will succeed as well. While doing so, we must
ensure that we avoid contradictions between our need to develop and develop
sustainably. Our culture teaches us Union between the व्यक्ति and समस्ती. If we become one with the universal order, there
are no conflicts of interest.

Therefore, my Government is treating the challenge of adapting to climate
change as an opportunity rather than a problem. We need to adopt the philosophy
of योग: कर्मसु कौशलम्. We
must do things in a way that causes minimum damage to the environment. This is कौशल or mastery. This is
what I mean when I talk of zero defect and zero effect manufacturing.
I have written some of my thoughts on this theme in my book, Convenient Action:
continuity for change.

Friends! The rule of law dictates that no one can be punished for another’s
misdeed. We need to recognize that there are many people who are least
responsible for the problem of climate change. They are also the people who
still wait for access to modern amenities. They face the adverse impact of
climate change more than anyone else. This includes cyclones, droughts, floods,
heat waves, and rising sea levels. The poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups
have fewer resources to cope with climate disasters. Unfortunately, their
present and future generations are also burdened by laws and agreements on
environment. That is why I talk about Climate Justice. Moreover,
the rules, laws, practices and principles of one country cannot be applied to
another uniformly. Every country has its own challenges and its own ways of
dealing with them. If we apply the same set of rules for all countries and for
all people; it will not work.

Sustainable development is our responsibility. I am confident that we can
achieve it, collectively. I am also confident that we can find ways for
development which are in harmony with nature. We can find them along the road
travelled by our forefathers. I hope the deliberations during this workshop
will help in developing a shared understanding of these imperatives.

I wish this conference a grand success.

Thank you.

***

PM launches “Setu Bharatam” – a
programme for bridge building to ensure seamless travel on National Highways

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today launched “Setu Bharatam” – an
ambitious programme with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore to build bridges for
safe and seamless travel on National Highways.

The programme aims at making all national highways Railway Level Crossing free
by 2019.

208 new “road over bridges / road under bridges” are envisaged for
construction, while 1500 bridges will be widened, rehabilitated or replaced.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the Union Government
wishes to make a quantum jump in this direction. Emphasizing the importance of
good infrastructure for the development of the country, he said the importance
of roads for a nation, is the same as the importance of arteries and veins in
the human body.

The Prime Minister spoke of the Government’s initiatives in other
infrastructure sectors as well, including railways, irrigation and digital
connectivity.